Senior signs to play softball

West Craven senior Rachel Riggs, front row center, signs her national letter-of-intent to play softball at Barton College. She was joined by: Front row, left to right: Eddie Riggs and Wendy Riggs. Back row: West Craven Athletic Director Todd McMillen, softball coach David Fernandez, softball coach Sheila Holloway.

Adam Thompson, Sun Journal Staff

By Adam Thompson, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 07:07 PM.

VANCEBORO — In the offseason, Rachel Riggs worked hard on playing shortstop.

The senior, who typically plays outfield for West Craven’s softball team, knew she had a chance to play the middle infield position in college.

She competed at shortstop for three showcase travel teams.

Riggs earned a scholarship to play softball at Division II Barton College in
Wilson
. She recently signed her national letter-of-intent in front of her West Craven softball coaches, friends and parents, Eddie and Wendy Riggs.

VANCEBORO — In the offseason, Rachel Riggs worked hard on playing shortstop.

The senior, who typically plays outfield for West Craven’s softball team, knew she had a chance to play the middle infield position in college.

She competed at shortstop for three showcase travel teams.

Riggs earned a scholarship to play softball at Division II Barton College in Wilson. She recently signed her national letter-of-intent in front of her West Craven softball coaches, friends and parents, Eddie and Wendy Riggs.

“I’m really excited,” Riggs said. “I’ve played softball for a really long time, pretty much since I could walk. My dad went to BartonCollege, so it is nice to able to go to his alma mater.”

While Riggs is more familiar with the outfield position, she had a goal of playing shortstop at the next level.

She will likely play both at Barton.

“(Shortstop) is the position I’ve been trying to play,” Riggs said. “I worked hard to get better at it. I’m glad Coach Neff is giving me the chance to play it.”

Riggs said her biggest improvement came at the plate. She’s become more aggressive with the softball bat.

“I don’t like to watch strikes go by,” she said. “I swing hard at whatever comes at me and I go for a base hit every time.”

The Barton Bulldogs play in the Conference Carolinas. Last season, they finished ninth in the 12-team conference.

Not only did Riggs enjoy meeting players on the softball team, she also liked the small-school atmosphere.

“It’s a small college and I like the student to teacher ratio,” she said. “The one-on-one learning works really well for me. I liked the small campus and everybody was really warm and welcoming.”

Riggs was a guest player for the Carolina Chaos showcase team, which played Barton in a scrimmage game in October.

She liked what she saw from the opposing dugout.

“(Barton) has real good pitchers,” Riggs said. “I like how their coach is really strategic and charts pitches. She seems to work well with the players.”

As a junior, Riggs hit .258 with a home run, six doubles and six RBIs.

She’s only looking to get better during her senior year, which begins in March.

“I still feel like I have expectations to meet,” Riggs said. “I feel like I should keep getting better, so I can still be able to play at the college level. I want to be able to impress the (Barton) coaches so they will be more welcoming.”

Riggs is hoping to continue her diligent work ethic so that she will be a key contributor for the Barton Bulldogs.

“I really want to keep getting better at playing shortstop, and fielding, because I still make little errors here and there,” she said. “There is always stuff I can brush up on.”